It’s time again to take a trip back to a time when grabbing one’s friends, getting in the car and taking a cruise down the city’s main drag was the thing to do on Friday nights.
Those days seem long since passed, at least en masse, as technology, gas prices and other factors funnel today’s youth in front of video game consoles or movie screens for fun. But once every summer in Port Orchard, the car-crazy generations of yesteryears, and those of today, still pay homage to The Cruz.
The Cruz — an annual car-centric event which brings an average 500 classic cars to Port Orchard on the second Sunday in August — turns 20 this year. And while it’s blowing out its candles, so to will be the 1957- and 1932-era classic automobiles which turn 50 and 75 respectively.
That’s cause for celebration among the Cruz’s host, the Saints Car Club.
The 1932 Roadsters, in all of their sleekness, have been one of the most popular cars in the car show each year, said club president Larry Van Boeyem. On the waterfront this Sunday, a stock era Ford Roadster will be on display next to a highly modified, hot-rod model.
While 50-year-old ‘57s of all makes and models will also be on special feature.
“For just about any ‘57 it was a big year,” Van Boeyem said. “It was a big year of change.”
Among those changes were the advents of fuel injection and four-speed transmissions. And it was the only year at that time, and since, that Ford outsold GM, Van Boeyem added.
“Not to get into the battle of the brands or anything,” he said.
Undoubtedly, there will be more than a few friendly arguments on the waterfront about whose Ford Fairlane is better than whose Chevy Bel Air, or whose Cadillac Coupe deVille takes the cake. But that’s what the annual show is all about — a chance to talk vintage tin.
It all begins in fitting fashion with a cruise through Port Orchard in Saturday night’s Rod Run. Anyone with a classic car is invited to come out to Buck’s A&W on Mile Hill around 6 p.m. A group will gather there, before rolling through Port Orchard with a police escort.
About an hour later, cruisers will make their way to Waterfront Park for a sock hop dance put on by the Port Orchard Rotary, once again this year featuring the music of the Aphrodesiacs. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at Columbia Bank or at the gates Saturday night, Rotary organizer Rob Putaansuu said.
Sunday is show day.
“I don’t know that (The Cruz) has gotten a lot bigger, but I don’t think it’s gotten any smaller,” Van Boeyem said, noting the event is expecting between 500 and 600 cars again this year. “We pretty much fill up the motels around here for that weekend.”
While Cruz enthusiasts hail from abroad, coming from places like California, British Columbia, Montana and beyond, the show is open to anyone with a classic car.
Admission is $10, anyone interested in entering should bring their wheels to Kitsap Bank on the Port Orchard waterfront, between 7 a.m. and noon Sunday. Register, park and see and be seen.
“There’s an awful lot of worksmanship that goes into these things,” Van Boeyem said. “And you don’t see them every day anymore.”
And for those wives, girlfriends, mothers, brothers, sisters, or kids of car enthusiasts who may not be too keen on hours on end of appreciating the mechanical craftsmanship, the people who brought us the street fair from last month’s Fathoms of Fun will be back with the Festival by the Bay, offering vendors booths, food, fair and entertainment on Bay Street.
Additionally, Port Orchard’s downtown businesses will also offer sanctuary for the not-so-fanatic.
“(That’s) really helped us in that it gives the family something to do, versus just looking at cars,” Ban Boeyem said. “I know a lot of the ladies don’t like staring at cars for eight hours a day.”
The Cruz festivities
Aug. 11
The Rod Run will be a cruise on the eve of the show. Cars will gather at Buck’s A&W on Mile Hill around 6 p.m. and commence through Port Orchard with a police escort.
Then Port Orchard Rotary will be hosting a dance party at 7 p.m. at Waterfront Park, featuring the return of last year’s band The Aphrodesiacs. Tickets are $5 per person and can be purchased at Columbia Bank or at the gates.
Aug. 12
The Cruz Car Show will take over the waterfront from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Cars will be strewn all along the waterfront. Admission is free for spectators, $10 to enter a classic car.
The Festival By the Bay will post vendors and booths along Bay Street from Kitsap Bank to Peninsula Feed.
Bay St. will be blocked off, however parking will be available with a Kitsap Transit shuttle service near the armory on Mile Hill and by the Port Orchard Courthouse.
